High prices for food and energy propelled annual inflation in Germany to 2.8 per cent in January, the Federal Statistics office said Friday, adjusting a previous estimate of 2.7 per cent, DPA reported. The new figures showed an increase in annualized inflation for December 2007 to 3.2 per cent from the previous estimate of 2.8 per cent. On a month-to-month basis, prices dropped 0.4 per cent in January, mainly as a result of seasonal factors and the wearing off of a 3 per cent sales tax increased introduced at the start of 2007. Consumer prices rose 2.3 per cent in 2007, the highest rate of increase since 1994. Bigger than usual price increases for energy and fuel as well as for many food products were major contributing factors to the higher rate.
